Only One Black Juror Selected to Sit on Trial for Arbery's Accused Killers

By Alyssa Wilson Published: November 4, 2021

Only One Black Juror Selected to Sit on Trial for Arbery’s Accused Killers

This photo combo of images taken Thursday, May 7, 2020, and provided by the Glynn County Detention Center, in Georgia, show Gregory McMichael, left, and his son Travis McMichael. The two have been charged with murder in the February shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, whom they had pursued in a truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. (Glynn County Detention Center via AP)

In Summary

Racial discrimination is at the forefront of the trial for the men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, as almost all the jurors in the case are white.

After more than two weeks of searching for jurors in the case against Ahmaud Arbery’s accused killers, only one Black juror made the cut.

Prosecutors in the case have accused the men’s defense attorneys of striking qualified Black jurors from serving, CNN reported.

Judge Timothy Walmsley said it appeared the defense was discriminatory in its selection of jurors, but despite this, allowed the case to proceed. “This court has found that there appears to be intentional discrimination,” he said.

While the state argued the defense was striking potential jurors based on race, Walmsley denied a motion from prosecutors and said the defense had valid reasons other than race to strike Black jurors.

“One of the challenges that I think counsel recognized in this case is the racial overtones in the case… This is sort of the continuation of a conversation that I think will continue for a long time, with respect to this case,” Walmsley said.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals Glynn County, Georgia, where the trial is taking place, has a racial makeup that is 69.2% white and just 26.6% Black.

NEWS ALERT: @AttorneyCrump responds to the selection of 11 white jurors and 1 Black juror for the trial of Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. pic.twitter.com/0qvrrnXYV4
— Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) November 4, 2021

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump issued the following statement about the racial makeup of the jury:

After being hunted down, cornered, and shot for being a Black man in a white Georgia neighborhood, Ahmaud Arbery is again denied justice. His killers’ fate will be decided by a nearly all-white jury after defense attorneys denied eight potential Black jurors. Even the judge acknowledged “there appears to be intentional discrimination in the panel.” A jury should reflect the community. Brunswick is 5% Black, so it’s outrageous that Black jurors were intentionally excluded to create such an imbalanced jury in a cynical effort to help these cold-blooded killers escape justice.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump

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